Mommy Dearest
by HamClover
Summary: Maria, Bijou's owner, seems perfect, until she becomes sick. But she has no fever. How can she be sick? HOW did she get sick? Can Bijou even help? Well just read and you'll find out!
1. Piano Peril

Mommy Dearest  
  
By HamClover  
  
11/23/03  
  
Gee, I never really realized that for such a humorous person, I sure am good at writing drama genre fics! I just finished writing No Answer. It really didn't get too many reviews, but those who did read it said it was great, so If you like this fic I suggest reading No Answer too! I just finished reading a really great book called Cut. It's about this 15 year old named Callie who goes to Sea Pines, a place where they treat girls with mental disorders. Callie goes there because she cuts herself. Never too deep, and never enough to die, but enough to feel the pain, and she likes it. She is in this Group with a bunch of other troubled girls. I was addicted to this book and I read it in a few days. Cut also inspired this fic! I really suggest the book to anyone who thinks like me! Enjoy and PLLLLLEEEEEEAAASSSSSEEE send a review! Bye! Bye!  
  
~*~*~  
  
Chapter One- Piano Peril  
  
Maria leaned over, squinting at the ivory keys of the piano. She just couldn't play right this week! She tried taking a walk out to the park with her friend Laura and her cute dog Brandy, but that didn't work this time.  
  
Maria banged her hands on the keys, making a loud, startling noise, that woke her purebred hamster Bijou up with quite a start.  
  
Maria sighed when she noticed she had startled her hamster.  
  
"I'm sorry Bijou," Maria sighed. "I just can't play the piano! I've tried everything.It just isn't working.."  
  
Bijou set her head to one side and blinked. "But Maria! You look so sick! You should get some rest, yes?" Bijou tried telling Maria to take a break, but as always, Maria didn't even turn to her direction to listen to her advice. "Maria! Please!"  
  
Maria didn't listen. But Bijou was right, Maria did look horrible. She was so pale, her hair was a mess, and she had bags under her eyes. But the most major factor was that she was as bony as a stick, which was not like her at all! Maria ate a healthy diet of tofu and practically every vegetable ever grown.  
  
"Maria." Bijou moaned, giving up on yelling at her, it seemed shouting to a brick wall would be more efficient.  
  
After Maria left to go to Peaceful Glen, a private school for girls, Bijou scurried out of her cage and up to the window, she heard someone calling her name.  
  
"Bijou! Bijou! Are you there?"  
  
Bijou recognized that the voice belonged to Mable, one of her friends who had only lived in this neighborhood for about a year. Someone else was with Mable, too.  
  
"I am coming!" Bijou shouted, crawling up the window sill. Bijou blushed when she noticed the other ham tagging along with Mable was no other than Hamtaro.  
  
"Hamha!" Hamtaro greeted, with his usual attitude.  
  
"Bonjour," Bijou answered glumly.  
  
Mable cocked her head to one side. "Heke? You seem upset. what's wrong?" She asked.  
  
Bijou paused for a moment and turned towards Maria's piano. "Maria is not well, she cannot play the piano. She isn't acting like herself!" Bijou wanted to cry at the moment, if Hamtaro hadn't said something.  
  
"That's not good, has she taken a walk?"  
  
".many times,"  
  
"What about painting a picture? That always makes me feel better." Mable suggested.  
  
"No, she's tried practically everything, she's so, skinny."  
  
Hamtaro and Mable don't say anything. Bijou leaps onto the branch. "It's okay.we can talk about it later, I would just like to go to the clubhouse."  
  
~*~*~  
  
Yes, short chapter, I know..ohhh! But I hafta tell ya'll this! I had a horse show yesterday and in one class I came in 3rd place out of 6 and in my patterns class I came in 1st! Yay for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Tootles! Oh and please send a review! It inspires me! 


	2. Lunch Time

Mommy Dearest  
  
By the turkey loving gobbler HamClover  
  
11/27/03  
  
GOBBLE, GOBBLE! Happy Thanksgiving everybody! I'm so excited! I haven't eaten a turkey in so long. I was watching America's Thanksgiving Day Parade that was in Detroit this morning. I heard that Butch Hartman, the creator of my fave non-anime The Fairly Oddparents, was in the parade, but we missed him! Blah. My dad's friend knows him fairly well, which is really cool, but the coolest part was that the high school band from my hometown was right before Santa's float! I think they were introducing him or something. My brother's friend/neighbor was in the band, but we didn't see him. Still, it was cool! If you saw that parade, then you prolly know what town in Michigan I live in! (I really don't like telling people, for my own safety of course) Eat lots o' turkey! Gobble! Gobble!  
  
~*~*~  
  
Chapter Two- Lunchtime  
  
As Bijou, Hamtaro, and Mable walked to the Clubhouse, Bijou kept her eyes glued to the ground. She didn't say a word, until they got to the Clubhouse.  
  
"Hi Bijou!" Pashmina greeted, with Penelope tagging behind her. Pashmina paused for a moment, noticing Bijou's glum expression, then asked, "What's wrong?"  
  
"It's Maria," Bijou began, still gazing at the floor. "Something is wrong.she's sick..but she has no fever,"  
  
"Ookyoo?" Penelope asked, confused.  
  
Celeste noticed the girl-hams talking and went to go see what was going on.  
  
"I heard what you were saying." Celeste began, with Mable following her, "since it seems we all don't know what to do, why don't you ask everybody else..?"  
  
"Uh, Celeste." Mable said, "they probably could've thought of that on their own."  
  
"Don't tell me what to suggest!" Celeste snapped. Mable stuck her tongue out.  
  
"Make me!" This made Celeste mad. "GRR! YOU!"  
  
As Celeste chased her sister, trying to strangle her, Pashmina chuckled, trying to make Bijou smile, but it didn't work.  
  
"Celeste's right, I guess, maybe we should go ask everybody else." She suggested. Bijou nodded.  
  
But nobody knew what to tell them. Even Maxwell was puzzled. Bijou let out a sigh. Stan walked up to them. "Hey, have you girls seen Sandy? She isn't here." He asked. Bijou and Pashmina looked around the room, she wasn't here, actually, they hadn't seen her all day. "No, sorry," Pashmina muttered.  
  
When Stan left, Pashmina let out a sigh too. "We shouldn't even try asking Elder Ham, so Sandy may be the only ham who knows what's wrong with Maria." She said. Bijou wanted to cry. "I just hope nothing bad happens to Maria," She whispered.  
  
At school, Maria didn't speak a single word, even to her friends. Since she went to a private school, she had to wear a uniform. Maria was dreading lunch for some reason today. She couldn't pay attention in class, either. So many things were racing through her head. Like pianos, her trophies, Bijou, Laura, and a lot more stuff.  
  
Maria took the longest route to school that day, in order to waste time. But she finally managed to get there. Maria chose a dark, lonely table where no one sat ay in the corner. She stared at her food. Two pieces of celery, an apple juice box, her favorite salami sandwich, some soup in a fancy chrome thermos, and a biscuit for dessert. It all seemed so big to her.  
  
Carefully, so no one saw her, Maria nibbled the celery, barely enough to sustain her, and then wrapped it up in a napkin. Then she placed the biscuit, sandwich, and juice box in the napkin and slowly tossed it in the garbage. Then, as quiet as a mouse, she poured the soup out of the thermos at a nearby drinking fountain. Lunch hour was over and Maria packed up her empty lunchbox and headed to class. The only other thing that was empty was her stomach.  
  
Success.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Please send a review! Bye-Q! And happy Thanksgiving! 


	3. Nightmare

Mommy Dearest  
  
By HamClover  
  
11/30/03  
  
Today, is a bittersweet day indeed. It's my last day of Thanksgiving vacation *sob*, but also, it's the last day of November! Bring on X-mas! Also, I only hafta suffer three weeks of school 'till X-Mas break. Whoopee. At my local bowling alley, me, my bro, and my sis duked it out playing Dance Dance Revolution. I got a good score dancing to my favorite song Butterfly! I also saw Brother Bear last night with a friend. You have to see it, one of the best movies this year. Okay, I'll stop babbling, here's chapter three. Oh yes a little warning to B+B fans, there's a really little part with H+B fluff in this chapter, so don't flame me cause I warned you.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Chapter Three- Nightmare  
  
Bijou couldn't sleep that night. Neither could Maria. Too many things on her mind. She curled herself up into a tight ball, trying to drown out all the horrible thoughts that flooded her head, with no prevail. Bijou still was too worried about Maria.  
  
Maria coughed. Bijou's head jerked up instantly and she stared at Maria's dark bed. She could only see a dark silhouette in the dark, so she squinted. Maria coughed again, and then turned over.  
  
During the day, Bijou's cage was placed in the piano room, but during the night, Maria insisted that Bijou be near her, so she was placed on an oak finished table in the middle of her room. There were no trees near the window; the only drawback.  
  
Bijou sighed. She knew Maria was having trouble sleeping too. She heard from Maxwell that humans rarely coughed in their sleep. "It is almost dawn," Bijou said to herself, gazing at Maria's digital clock that sat neatly on her nightstand. It was 4:48 A.M. Maria always woke up at 7:30 to practice piano for a few minutes, get breakfast, and then go to school.  
  
Bijou stood up and walked over to her food bowl and began to nibble delicately on a sunflower seed. There seemed to be so many questions racing through her head and it was making her sick. Suddenly, without a second thought, Bijou flung the door to her cage open, ran out of Maria's room, into the piano room, and out the open window onto the tree branch.  
  
She stopped dead when she reached the sidewalk outside her house. What the hell was she doing!?  
  
Bijou's shaking body inspected her surroundings. Never had she gone out of her house during the night. The once peaceful street she lived on, seemed to turn into something straight out of a nightmare. Bijou trembled, but her feet stayed planted to the ground. Something made her come out here, but why? What?  
  
Suddenly, Bijou saw a faint shadow of a hamster walking down the street, right towards her! Bijou wanted to scream, she wanted to run as fast as her tiny feet would take her, but something glued her feet to the ground and made her unable to squeak. Bijou froze, barely even breathing. Maybe if she stood very, very still, this stranger wouldn't notice her and continue on their way. But that didn't happen. The shadow suddenly began to walk faster, right towards Bijou. The fog made it impossible to recognize this hamster. Bijou wanted to cry, wanted to be back in her safe, warm, cage, but she couldn't. The shadow was very close to Bijou now. And as she made out the figure. Bijou's eyes filled with tears and she leapt into the hamster's arms, sobbing.  
  
"Oh Hamtaro!" Bijou cried. "I was so afraid." Hamtaro was a little surprised what Bijou did, hugging him and all, but her let her hug him, she seemed quite upset. "Bijou," He began, "What are you doing out here, at this time.?" Bijou's face was buried in his fur. "I do not know," She muttered, "I just suddenly came out here, but it is so scary. I thought you were someone else," Bijou paused, looking at her fog encrusted house. "Why are you out here, Hamtaro?" She asked, not the least bit suspicious. "Brandy." "Huh?" "Brandy somehow got loose. I noticed him run off, so I went out to search for him. Then I thought I saw you, so I ran up to ask if you've seen him, have you?" "No, I'm sorry,"  
  
Bijou sat down on the concrete sidewalk, she was so tired. "I could not sleep tonight. Maria couldn't either. And for some reason, I just ran out here. Maybe I needed some fresh air," She sighed. Hamtaro sat down next to her.  
  
"Stan's getting pretty worried," Hamtaro said.  
  
"About what?"  
  
"Sandy. He hasn't seen her in quite a while. He said that Noel can't reach Hillary either, Maxwell's pretty upset too."  
  
"Oh.I do hope that Sandy can answer our question!" Bijou exclaimed suddenly. "She's the only ham-ham we have not asked."  
  
Hamtaro nodded, his face seemed to grow quite concerned.  
  
Bijou noticed his expression change and asked what was wrong. "Oh, well, you seem pretty sick yourself, Bijou," Hamtaro answered. Bijou blinked. "it looks like you haven't had sleep in years. I really think you should head back home. I don't want you to get sick."  
  
Bijou smiled weakly and stood up. "Okay, Hamtaro, I'll take your advice. Thank-Q." She said. Hamtaro stood up too and smiled. "I hope you find Brandy." "Thanks." Bijou began walking towards the house. As she did, she paused and turned back to Hamtaro.  
  
"Hamtaro.?"  
  
"yeah?"  
  
"If I'm not at the Clubhouse today, please do not tell anyone."  
  
"About what?"  
  
"About. this."  
  
"Okay Bijou."  
  
"Goodnight."  
  
And Hamtaro's image disappeared in the fog.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Please send a review! 


	4. Snoozer's Advice

Mommy Dearest  
  
By HamClover  
  
11/30/03  
  
Ugh. I am bored so I'm writing chapter four. Here it is!  
  
~*~*~  
  
Chapter Four- Snoozer's Advice  
  
Bijou slept in until 11:00 that morning. She didn't even get to say goodbye to Maria. She stretched and yawned. Sitting up, Bijou squinted, gazing out the window. Maria must have moved her cage into the piano room because the window with "the branch to freedom" was there. Well, that's what Hitoshi called it at least.  
  
Despite the fact that Bijou felt like she was about to throw up, she suddenly had the urge to go to the Clubhouse.  
  
So Bijou quietly slipped out of the cage and made her way carefully to the window. As she crawled up on the sill, she was slightly upset that none of her friends had come to get her. "Oh well, I will just walk slowly today." Bijou said to herself.  
  
Making her way down the tree, Bijou noticed Princess, Maria's rambunctious puppy barking at something on the sidewalk.  
  
"Princess, what are you barking at?" Bijou asked the puppy as she approached her.  
  
"Ruff! Ruff!" Princess answered.  
  
Bijou managed to break a smile. "Okay Princess, whatever you say."  
  
"Woof!"  
  
When Bijou got to the Clubhouse. No one was there, except for Snoozer. Bijou sighed. "They must have gone out somewhere," She muttered. Snoozer was dozing on top of the round table. Bijou sat on a stool next to him.  
  
"Zu, zu, zu," Snoozer muttered.  
  
Bijou looked around the Clubhouse; the ham-hams left it in a mess as usual. Howdy's abacus was sitting on top of one of Maxwell's books and Stan's maracas were placed on a chair.  
  
"They must have left in a hurry," Bijou said. "I wonder where to."  
  
"Zu, zu, nowhere exactly." Snoozer snored.  
  
Bijou looked up. "Where?"  
  
"Just around town, but they are a little, zu, worried about you, zu, zu,"  
  
"They are? Did Hamtaro tell them?"  
  
"Zu, Zu, tell them what.?"  
  
"So he didn't, I take it."  
  
"Zu, zu,"  
  
Bijou smiled. "That is good, yes?"  
  
Snoozer turned over. There was an eerie silence as Bijou's chair creaked.  
  
"Zu, zu, you know, you can't wait for things, zu, zu, to happen. Zu, zu, sometimes, you hafta take action, zu, zu, for things that are wrong."  
  
Bijou cocked her head to one side. "What do you mean.?"  
  
"Zu, zu, zu, zu."  
  
Bijou smiled. Right then she envied Snoozer. She was still very tired. She rose out of her stool. "Thank-Q Snoozer. I think I know what to do!"  
  
With that, Bijou scrambled out of the Clubhouse. Snoozer sighed.  
  
"Anytime, zu, zu, zu,"  
  
~*~*~ 


	5. The Answer

Mommy Dearest  
  
By DUN, DUN, DUN! HamClover! Wee!  
  
12/5/03  
  
Yay! Only 20 days till Christmas! Wee! Ya wanna hear what I want? .you don't want to..it's.quite long, and I might just put you to sleep! *laughs*  
Well, TGIF! And yes, my apologies for this chapter being a little late, I was drowning in homework! Gah! Well, okey doky, a few of your questions you've been asking are answered in this fic, so don't miss out! (but do enjoy!)  
  
~*~*~  
  
Chapter 5- The Answer  
  
The next morning, Maria sat at her vanity, brushing her long brown hair.  
  
Bijou stared at her with concern from her humble cage in the corner of the bedroom.  
  
Suddenly, Maria paused, and held the brush in front of her face. A large amount of her brunette locks were now tangled in the brush.  
  
"My, hair.is coming out." Maria murmured. She silently set down the hairbrush and picked up her book bag.  
  
Managing a weak smile, Maria said goodbye to Bijou, and left her in the room.  
  
Bijou was slightly frustrated by this because Maria always put her in the piano room before went took off for school. No today. For some reason, Maria was in such a hurry that day she skipped breakfast.  
  
"Hmm. That is weird," Bijou said, "It seems to be a pattern, Maria is skipping her morning meal, more, and more."  
  
Without hesitation, Bijou crept out of her cage and scampered down the hall to the piano room. As usual, the window was open, so that there could be some fresh air for Maria.  
  
Crawling up the curtains, Bijou suddenly got a feeling that something bad was going to happen that day. She hesitated, but remembered what Snoozer had told her. To take things into her own paws. Bijou's expression turned to a determined look. And that's exactly what she was going to do.  
  
At the Clubhouse, Bijou was slightly relieved to see Sandy there. And she was acting like her normal self.  
  
"Hey Bijou!" Boss shouted, waving his paw. "Sandy says she may know what's wrong with Maria!"  
  
Bijou lit up. "Really!? You mean it??"  
  
Sandy nodded, Boss blushed; he made Bijou happy.  
  
Before Sandy told Bijou, she first told everyone where she was.  
  
"Hillary had a totally cool gymnastics tournament!" She exclaimed. "She wanted to bring me, so, like, I did! Hillary got a bunch of awesome medals!"  
  
"Oohh!" The ham-hams said.  
  
But remebereing what she had to tell Bijou, Sandy's face darkened a bit.  
  
"Bijou, I don't know if you'll like what I'm going to tell you.about Maria,"  
  
Bijou kept silent.  
  
"You see, the same thing, like, happened to one of Hillary's teammates on the team.it was totally not cool."  
  
Silence, but they were listening.  
  
"You see, Bijou, Maria has this sickness."  
  
..  
  
".anorexia."  
  
~*~*~  
  
HA! HA! HA! A cliffhanger! Those of you who guessed Maria was anorexic, your right! Yay for you! You've been paying attention in health class, I can see! ^^ 


	6. The Plan

Mommy Dearest  
  
By HamClover....BOW TO ME! (Tee, hee, just kidding)  
  
12/5/03  
  
Yep, I am bored, so here's chapter 6.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Chapter 7- The Plan  
  
The next night was the longest night Bijou had ever lived. Sandy's answer repeatedly flashed in her head. Bijou knew what anorexia was.but she just didn't know how to tell any human so Maria could get help. And Maria needed help- fast.  
  
Suddenly, Bijou got the greatest idea. If a hamster couldn't communicate with humans.what about Man's Best Friend?  
  
That morning, before daybreak, Bijou snuck out to Hamtaro's to ask him for help.  
  
"I'm not sure this is going to work." Hamtaro yawned, he was very tired, and Bijou was leading him to her house.  
  
"I know this will work. It must! You'll help me, right.?"  
  
"Yeah. Of course."  
  
Bijou smiled and raised her fist. "Let's go get a puppy!"  
  
~*~*~  
  
Yep, I probably just broke the record for the world's shortest chapter.. *shrugs* .go figure. 


	7. Final Chance

Mommy Dearest  
  
By HamClover  
  
12/15/03  
  
Oh happy day! They caught bad old Saddam! Yay! I'm so..HAPPY! (what a surprise) Okay, well here's the climax to Mommy Dearest! At the end of the chapter, I'll give you an "exclusive" preview of my upcoming fic! Enjoy!  
  
~*~*~  
  
Final Chance  
  
Later that morning, the places were set.  
  
Here was Bijou's plan-  
  
Bijou would be taken down to breakfast with Maria, and be placed on the table next to her cereal.  
  
Hamtaro and Princess sat in the hall.  
  
When Maria would try and get rid of her food, Bijou would give Hamtaro and Princess the signal.  
  
Princess would run into the room barking madly, making sure to get Maria's mother to look in Maria's direction.  
  
If all went according to plan, Maria's mother would realized Maria's sickness and help her.  
  
It was late into the evening before Bijou ever found out if her plan  
worked.  
  
Everything went according to plan, but the only thing worth worrying  
about was if they had saved Maria in time. She could only pray.  
  
Pacing in her cage, Bijou sensed that something was going on. The  
house was dark, and empty. Nobody was home, not even Princess.  
  
"Please let this work!" Bijou begged. "Please, please, please!"  
  
All that pacing must have had made Bijou tired, because after 10:47,  
Bijou was fast asleep.  
  
Bijou woke up to the blazing rays of light that streamed in from  
Maria's window. Someone was staring at her with a warm smile.  
  
"Maria!" Bijou exclaimed.  
  
Despite he fact that Maria was as skinny as a twig, she looked happy,  
for once.  
  
Bijou smiled.  
  
"Bijou, I missed you so much!" Maria said weakly as she held the happy  
girl hamster in her bony hands.  
  
"I have to thank you and Princess."  
  
Bijou gasped. "Did she know!?"  
  
Maria did not answer. "I'll be gone for a while.to therepey. I'll have  
to stay overnight a couple weeks. Mother said you could come. That's  
good"  
  
Bijou nodded. Even though she had no clue if she would be able to  
reach the Clubhouse, she still was happy.  
  
Maria set Bijou down and sat on her windowsill.  
  
"I don't know why, why I didn't eat, maybe it was just because I was  
put under too much pressure. I'm not sure. But I am happy, happy that  
I have people like you, Bijou, and Laura, to back me up. Thanks."  
Maria gave Bijou one final smile, and drifted out of the room.  
  
Bijou stood there for a moment, perplexed, but soon understood.  
"Thanks." She echoed. There were so many people Bijou wanted to thank.  
Hamtaro, Princess, Sandy, and everyone else.  
  
Walking back into her cage, Bijou gawked at her food bowl, looming  
with food. Walking over to it, she grabbed a sunflower seed, and ate,  
and ate, and ate. She decided to never take life, or food for that  
matter, for granted again.  
  
The End  
  
~*~*~  
  
I hope you enjoyed this story!  
  
PREVEIW!  
  
My next fic will be starring our two favorite rivals/friends, Dexter  
and Howdy! A slightly short comedy fic, this is the adventure of a  
lifetime! When Dexter blames Howdy for "killing" somebody, they think  
that unless they go on the run, they'll be put in jail!  
  
~This story will be published sometime after the new year, so keep and  
eye out! But I'm sure you'll have a good time!  
  
Until next time, tootles! (and have a FANTASTIC holiday!!)  
  
~~~~~HamClover *hugs!* 


End file.
